Toy typewriter



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 15, 1946. J BANKS 2,409,237-

TOY TYPEWRITER Filed Ma a, 1945 '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 O 6 r I I 0'2 6 4g 40 I. 'F 1 M arm/Ml?" UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TOY TYPEWRITER Joseph Le Roy Banks, Baltimore, Md., assignor to Joseph L. Schilling, John C. Doig, and Irving G. Rubin, doing business as J. L. Schilling Co.

Substituted for abandoned application Serial No. 34,085, July 31, 1935. This application May 2,

1945, Serial No. 591,443 I 9 Claims. (Cl. 197-47) The invention relates to a toy typewriter capable of being manufactured at a low cost, of durable construction, and of easy operation.

The invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which I Figure 1 is a plan view of the typewriter.

Fig. 2 is a vertical central section from front to rear of the machine.

' Fig. 3 is a plan view of the slidable carriage 2 riage has a top Sand depending sides 9, at front, rear and laterally. The lateral sides as shown in Fig. 4 have laterally extending foot portions ID, see also Fig. 8, which are adapted to slide in ways formed by striking up tongues II, from a sheet metal base plate 12 so as to overlie the said foot portions, and thus guide the type wheel carriage in its movement towards and from the platen I3, which holds the paper to be printed for the type wheel and a pawl and rack means 1 upo t p p being indicated at F for operating the paper carriage. There is a post l4 extending up from the type Fig. 4 is a front view of Fig, 3. wheel carriage I through an eyelet 15, said post Fig. 5 is a view of the platen and paper carh vin head on its l w r nd engaging he yeriage. let. The upper flange of this eyelet overlies the Fig. 6 is a plan view of a part of th paper type wheel or disc and holds it down to its work.

carriage in section, with the rack and pawl for operating the same step by step.

Fig. 7 is a side View of a detent wheel and detent for determining line spacing of the platen.

Fig. 8 is a view looking from the rear showing the slidable type wheel carriage, the inking ribbon with its guide, shield, and operating means mounted on said carriage to move therewith in one body. Y

Fig. 9 is a view of the ribbon shield, guide and support in the form in which it is stamped out of sheet metal before being bent to shape.

Fig. 10 is a top plan view of the type wheel and associated parts.

Fig. 11 is a face view of part of the type carrier and strip.

Fig. 12 is a detail of a modified means of operating the paper carriage.

The type wheel I is composed of a sheet metal disc capable of being formed by dies and having a depending flange 2 to which a type strip 3 is attached by its ends 4, Fig. 10, passing through an opening in the said flange and being bent into substantially hook form. This type strip may be made of thin material carrying the type 5 which may be embossed in the strip or otherwise formed and applied thereto. This type strip rests upon a lip 2a at the lower edge of the flange 2. The type Wheel or disc is also provided with a series of recesses or sockets la shaped by bending the sheet metal of the type wheel arranged in a circle adapted to be engaged by a spring detent 6 by which the type wheel when turned will be arrested and centered when the desired type member has been brought to the printing point, as will be hereinafter referred to. The spring arm of this detent is clamped in place against the under side of the type wheel carrier 1 which also is made of comparatively thin sheet metal which may be stamped up into shape. This car- This eyelet also clamps the spring arm of the detent 6 in place. Turnable about the postthere is a finger button l6, which has a flange or base portion I! having notches receiving fingers l8 struck up from the type wheel or disc and extending up through an index disc [9 also made of stamped sheet metal. This disc on its upper surface carries a series of characters, as letters, numbers, punctuation marks and a mark or word indicating space, said characters corresponding to the type on the face of the type wheel strip, and corresponding also with the radial position of said type. When, therefore, thefinger button 16 is turned to bring the desired type member to the point P in Fig. 1 at the radial center line from front to back of the machine, said type member will be in proper position to do the printing. The impression of this type character upon the paper will take place by mov ing the type wheel carriage rearwardly, in its sliding guide ways II, and this movement can be performed by the operator pressing upon a finger lever 20 pivotally mounted at 2| in a suitable sheet metal bracket 22 fixed to the base I2 of the machine by foot portions passing through slots in the base and bent against the underside of the base plate. This lever is stamped out of sheet metal with pintles or pivots integral therewith to bear in openings in the bracket. The finger lever has a depending arm 20a worke ing against a cam section or abutment 9a pressed out of the wall of the type wheel carrier, so that when the finger lever is depressed the type wheel carriage will be moved rearwardly to make the type lying at the point P impress the character upon the paper. The abutment 9a. which is stamped or pressed from the sheet metal of the type wheel carrier adds strength to the front wall of said carrier so that it will resist distortion resulting from the pressure of the finger lever.

3 The carrier may be made of thin sheet metal, this being true of most parts of the machine. Springs 23 return the type wheel carriage to normal position away from the platen of the paper carriage when pressure of the finger on lever is withdrawn. In this operation of applying power to make the impression I prefer to use the finger lever 20 as just described, but 7 I do not limit myself to this. The finger button l6 after having been turned to bring the desired type character to the position opposite the printing point on the platen may be used to make the impression in which action the operator would simply exert pressure on the finger button rearwardly to slide the type carrier. The use of the finger lever 20 is preferred because it not only simulates to some degree the ordinary action in making an impression by striking or pressing a key lever in the ordinary standard machine, but also the power applied by the finger to this finger lever is transmitted to or near the base portion of the carrier where it is guided by the foot portions thereof and the guide flanges The springs 23 are arranged close to the points where the carrier is guided by its foot portions l0 and they exert their pull in lines parallel with the direction of a motion of the carrier. One spring being at each side a balanced action is secured.

The inking ribbon 25 is mounted to move bodily with the type wheel or disc and its carriage, so that when the latter is in its normal forward position, by reason of the springs 23 having returned said carriage to its forward position, the printing point on the platen and the matter printed on the paper will be exposed, thus giving to the machine the character of one performing visible writing.

The ribbon is carried by spools 26 whose shafts are vertically disposed and journalled in brackets 21 of a frame of sheet metal, which also provides a shield 28 to prevent the ribbon from smudging the paper. This shield has an opening 29 which exposes the ribbon at the printing point. It also has arms 39 provided with openings 3| to receive rivets or other fastening devices 32 which secure the entire ribbon support to the carriage. This frame is stamped out of sheet metal, one of the bracket portions or ears 21 being stamped out of the body of the metal with a bearing opening 27a for the journal of the ribbon spool and the other bracket portion or ear 2! being stamped from the edge portion of the metal. The blank form of Fig. 9 is bent on the line 33, so as to provide a horizontal flange on the shield plate at the upper edge thereof, as at 34, which overlies the upper edge of the ribbon and guides it against upward displacement. There is also a flange 34a struck out from the sheet metal which when bent into horizontal position guides the lower edge of the ribbon.

This flange portion 34a is struck out from the sheet along the lines a, b, c, d. It is bent along the line e into horizontal position. In striking out this portion for making the flange 34a, the portion is made at the same time, this portion when split furnishing the arms for attaching the shield to the type wheel carrier.

The vertically extending shafts of the ribbon spools are provided with finger pieces 35 at their upper ends which are thus readily accessible for operation by the child, in bringing a fresh part of the ribbon to the printing point.

Th platen is composed of a comparatively soft rubber sleeve 38 mounted on a wooden core 31.

The type are of zinc pressed from a strip of said material. The shield may be constructed to yield adjacent the opening where the type positioned for printing is located, so that contact of adjacent type with said shield will not result in damage. Contributing to this yielding effect is the soft rubber covering of the platen.

The shield opening may be of such size as to permit only one type to pass through it to the platen. The platen is mounted to turn in bearings of a frame or carriage made up of upstanding end members 38 connected at their lower ends by the plate portion 39 stiffened by a flange 40, Fig. 2, bent up from said plate 39. There is a depending skirt portion 4| at the forward edge of the plate 39, and this skirt portion or flange has a horizontal foot portion or flange 42 engaged by an overlying guide flange or flanges 43 struck up from the sheet metal of the base l2.

This platen carriage is also guided and supported in proper position by a plate 44 formed of sheet metal corrugated lengthwise at 45, and. having a lip or flange 4S overlying the flange 40 of the platen carrier frame. The corrugated plate or bar 44 may be fixed to the main base l2 by solder or otherwise.

The platen carrier frame is stamped and bent from sheet metal. Its front skirt portion 4| is provided with rack teeth 41 which are impressed therein or struck up therefrom by a stamping action. The teeth are to be engaged by a feed pawl 48, which is pivotally mounted at 49, Figs. 1 and 3, in a bracket on the rear face of the carrier for the type wheel. This pawl is under tension of a spring 5| tending to hold the pawl with its end in the relation to the rack of the platen carrier as shown in Fig. 1, the tail portion 48a of this pawl acting as a stop. When the type wheel carrier is moved rearwardly for making the impression on the paper, the pawl 48 will partake of this rearward movement and it will engage a tooth of the rack bar 41 and as the rearward movement continues, the pawl 48 will tend to assume a position nearer parallel with the rack, withv the result that the rack, together with the paper carriage, will be moved leftward one step, and this action will be repeated whenever the type wheel carriage is moved rearward to make an impression. The platen frame by reason of its frictional engagement in its guide ways and by reason of the additional frictional resistance derived by a leaf spring 52, Fig. 2, attached to one of said parts, platen carrier, or its supporting frame work, and bearing on the other, will remain in the position to which it has been moved by the pawl 48. No escapement' is necessary, and no spring is employed to move the platen carriage along its guide way. Other forms of platen operating means may be employed such as that shown in Fig. 12.

This involves a toothed wheel I52, engaging a rack 53 in th form of a perforated plate on the platen carrier. The toothed wheel is operated by a two armed pallet 54 having two toothed ends 55 and 55, to control the operation. This pallet is pivoted intermediate its length at 51. It is under tension of a spring 58 tending to keep its detent tooth. 56 i engagement with the toothed wheel. This pallet is operated by a projection 59 on the rear wallof the type wheel carrier engaging a pin 60 on the pallet.

At 5! i shown a guide for the insertion of the paper. Small rubber members 62 hold the paper against the platen. These are supported by a rod 63 which tie the carriage frame parts 38 together. Most of the parts are made of stampings, and most of the connections are made by parts stamped out of one part and bent into connection with another part, which contributes to mass production at low cost.

The carrier for the type wheel is in the form of a shell rectangular or substantially square in horizontal cross section, thus providing front and rear depending walls parallel with each other, and also side walls which are parallel with each other. This form of carrier lends itself to proper guidance because the lower edges of its side walls are straight and are adapted to mov in straight line backward and forward. The flat sides lend themselves to the ready assembly of the spiral springs 23 with their axes parallel with the line of movement of the carrier.

These fiat sides also lend themselves to the employment of the arms 30 for supporting the ribbon and its spools and shield plate because these arms can find bearings against the flat parallel sides of the carrier. The rear fiat wall of the carrier furnishes a convenient support for the pawl or the operating means therefor. and the flat wall of the front f the carrier aifords material from which the cam or abutment 9a of the carrier may be upset.

A guard 65, supported from the i2 by tongues 66 interlocking with slots or openings in said base may extend around the major portion of the type wheel to protect the type Carrying strip.

The platen may be turned by a finger wheel 54.

t will be noted that while I have provided a typewriter as a toy for the amusement of the operator, the invention has not only an education value in the sense that a child will get practice in forming words and sentences, but training in skillful manipulation of apparatus will be a result of its use, the toy being one that calls for some degree of precision in its proper use.

For spacing the paper carriage along without printing there is a wide space in the circle of characters marked space in Fig. 1. By turning the type wheel to bring this space to the printing point any number of spacing actions may be effected without printing.

As shown in Figs. 1, 5, and 7a, spacing wheel [35c and a detent i311 are employed at the lefthand end of the paper carriage for spacing the rotary movements of the platen I3.

This is a re-filed application of my previous application, Serial Number 34,085, filed July 31, 1935.

I claim:

1. A typewriter comprising platen, a type wheel, a carrier for the type wheel to move it towards and from the platen, an inking ribbon, ribbon spools, and a member for mounting the said ribbon and its spools on said carrier and for guiding the said ribbon comprising a sheet metal stamping having an opening for access of the type to the printing point, arms on opposite sides of the line of movement of the carrier for attachment to the sides of said carrier, ears extending horizontally from the plate having bearing openings for the vertical journals of the ribbon spools, and flanges extending forwardly and horizontally from the upper and lower edges of said sheet metal stamping for guiding the ribbon.

2. A typewriter according to claim 1 in which on of the ears is stamped from the body of the sheet metal plate and one of the flanges is stamped out from the body of the plate, the latter leaving portions for providing the attaching arms of said plate.

3. A typewriter comprising a type wheel, a carrier therefor having a horizontal top plate on which said type wheel is mounted to turn about a vertical axis, said carrier being substantially rectangular in horizontal cross section, a platen towards and from which the carrier with its type wheel is guided, a ribbon extending across the rear face of the type wheel, a supporting frame for said ribbon having arms extending forwardly intermediate of its length and attached to the side of the carrier, said ribbon supporting frame having ribbon spool bearings thereon out beyond the points where said arms are located.

4. A typewriter comprisin a platen, a type wheel of sheet metal rotating in a horizontal plane, a carrier for the type wheel having a top plate above which the type wheel is mounted, said type wheel having detent receiving recesses stamped therein, a spring detent mounted on the under side of the top plate of said carrier, a post extendin up from the top plate of the carrier about which the type wheel turns, a finger button turnable about said post, said type wheel having a projection struck up therefrom engaging a part of the finger button by which the type wheel may be turned.

5. A typewriter having a type wheel, a carrier having a top plate, a flanged eyelet pivotally connecting the type wheel with the carrier top, a post extending through the eyelet, a finger button turnable on the post and a projection extending from the type wheel and engaging the finger button.

6. A typewriter according to claim 5 in which the eyelet holds in place a detent for the type wheel on the under side of said top plate, said detent extending through the top plate to engage the type wheel.

7. A typewriter comprising a type wheel, a carrier therefor having a top plate, a post extending up from the top plate, a finger button .turnable on said post, said type plate having detent receiving recesses stamped therein, and havin a projection stamped therefrom and engaging a part of the finger button to be turned thereby, and an index plate above the type wheel carrying characters corresponding to the type on said type wheel, said struck-up projection passing through the said index plate.

8. A typewriter comprising a type wheel struck up from sheet metal with a downwardly extending peripheral flange terminating in a horizontally extending lip, a type strip carrying the type, supported by said lip by resting on edge thereon and the outer face of said flange, said strip having its ends turned into hook form and passing through the flange.

9. A typewriter comprising a type wheel, a carrier therefor composed of sheet metal having a top to which the type wheel is journaled, said carrier being of substantially rectangular form in horizontal cross section and provided at its front wall with a pressed out abutment or cam portion, and a finger lever pivotally supported and having a tail portion extending downwardly along said abutment.

JOSEPH LE ROY BANKS. 

